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iModFrenzy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 15, 2015
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Kamino
I don’t own a 2016+ model, bought a 2015 model instead. But out of curiosity, does anyone get slightly bothered by the cheap looking oled touchbar? I mean when I look it at it feelings like I’m staring at my iBook G4’s rainbowy screen.

I’m curious If they’ll up the resolution/change the panel of it.

And yes I know it bothers a good majority that it’s even there but hey if we’re forced to have it id like the best.
 
i actually think the oled touchbar looks fine.

what i'm bothered with is the coating they use. I use the touchbar most often for volume adjustments and you can clearly see the coating coming off for that button. No idea how they can make it so bad.
 
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I’m curious If they’ll up the resolution/change the panel of it.
Not in 2018, and I suspect not for a while if it at all. I have to believe the overall rejection of the TB and the lack of embrace by developers must have surprised Apple and so I don't think we'll see any updates to that component. I stand by my assessment in that its a solution in search of a problem. Yes, many people enjoy it, but I truly believe they're in the minority.
 
No, I've never been bothered by the look. I think the particular images being used can make it appear better or worse.

I think when new Macs are released this fall, we might get a better idea of the future. They will probably have T2 chips, so if Apple wants to expand the touchbar beyond the MacBook, the infrastructure would be in place.

The fact they have added more Touchbar functionality in Mojave (e.g. Automator actions) might be an indicator...
 
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Sorry to disappoint you but I love the Touch Bar :D
No disappointment here! I do see why some enjoy it, I feel I might enjoy it myself I actually had it. I just can’t bring myself to get the new keyboard. Durability is a big factor for me.
i actually think the oled touchbar looks fine.

what i'm bothered with is the coating they use. I use the touchbar most often for volume adjustments and you can clearly see the coating coming off for that button. No idea how they can make it so bad.
Must be the coating that bothers me a lot then
Not in 2018, and I suspect not for a while if it at all. I have to believe the overall rejection of the TB and the lack of embrace by developers must have surprised Apple and so I don't think we'll see any updates to that component. I stand by my assessment in that its a solution in search of a problem. Yes, many people enjoy it, but I truly believe they're in the minority.
If I’ve learned anything from Apple. They tend to go against the negativity of something and do it anyway. Like seeing tons of new emojis and Animoji while most could care less. But you do have a good point, just my view on it.
 
I despise the touchbar, and find it actively interferes with workflow.

If Apple ever gets rid of it on a 15" I'll buy one just to vote with my wallet.
 
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I'm also very happy with the Touch Bar on my 15" 2017 MBP. It speeds up my writing enormously. I certainly don't see any coating coming off.
 
To be fair, they did "up" the Touch Bar this year in a number of ways. Just not in the way you're looking for.

On the hardware-side of things, the Touch Bar now supports TrueTone on the new MBPs which is great.

On the software-side, Mojave now allows you to create "Action Bundles" via Automator and put them right into the Touch Bar which allows you to basically put any chain of supported actions as a shortcut there. This is a pretty underrated change as it now allows you to create basically any chain of supported actions you want and trigger them via a single press of the Touch Bar. Don't like the standard selection of buttons you can put in the Touch Bar? Want to trigger more complex and personalized workflows from the TB? Mojave allows you to do that, right from there.

One of the main criticisms of the Touch Bar has always been that Apple doesn't give the user enough freedom of what to do with it, and this is a definite step in the right direction; it enables you to do lots of stuff natively that previously was only possible with tools like BetterTouchTool. (Source: Platforms State of the Union, about minute 24)

There are also some new things developers can do with the TB in Mojave, though I'm not entirely sure what they are.

About the resolution: I think we'll see a resolution increase for the Touch Bar the same year we get a resolution increase for the MBP display itself, for the simple reason that the Touch Bar has about the same pixel density as the MBP display. Which might still be a couple years away. It doesn't really make much sense to increase the resolution on one of them and keep the resolution of the other one the same. Personally I also don't think the resolution is an issue with the Touch Bar, though then again I'm still waiting for my own one coming in 2 weeks and can only speak from the experience of my visits to the Apple Store.
 
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If I’ve learned anything from Apple. They tend to go against the negativity of something and do it anyway.
Agreed, although I think part of it is the fact hyperbole has become so widespread now, it's hard to judge real sentiment as well as we used to.
 
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